WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States issued the following news release:

Today the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) announced that the agency is extending provisions to assist U.S. exporters and financial institutions located in areas of the eastern United States that may be declared federal disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency due to the anticipated effects of Hurricane Florence.

"We at EXIM are concerned about our customers and everyone on the East Coast and in the mid-Atlantic in the path of this potentially devastating hurricane. Our thoughts and prayers are with them," said Ambassador Jeffrey D. Gerrish, EXIM's acting president and chairman of the board of directors. "As with other severe storms, we want to give our customers and their lenders the time and the leeway to concentrate on their immediate needs in the aftermath. To this end, we're again extending the periods of our working capital facilities and the deadlines of insurance policies and claims filings to customers in the affected areas. We hope that these measures will be especially beneficial to small businesses during the recovery period."

EXIM is offering assistance measures to customers in the areas affected by Hurricane Florence for an initial period of six months to allow businesses and financial institutions that participate in EXIM's programs to return to their business concerns when appropriate and without penalty due to missed deadlines or other timeliness issues. EXIM offered similar assistance in areas of states affected by past hurricanes, including Hurricane Lane in 2018 and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017.

* EXIM will offer automatic extension for up to six months for working capital loan facilities maturing between September 13, 2018, and March 13, 2019. The extension applies to both the loan facility and the related loan facility fee, which may be waived in extraordinary circumstances. Claim-filing deadlines involving EXIM-backed working capital loans in the affected areas are automatically extended until March 14, 2019.

* The Bank is also offering a waiver of provisions relating to both defaults and replenishment of collateral for over advances resulting from losses of inventory or sales.

Multibuyer and Single-Buyer Insurance Programs/

Medium-Term Guarantee Program

* EXIM will offer automatic extension to March 14, 2019, of all claim-filing deadlines that arise between September 13, 2018, and March 13, 2019.

* Shipment reporting and premium payment deadlines will be automatically extended to March 14, 2019, for all shipments made during August and September 2018.

* EXIM will provide flexibility in claims analysis and automatic policy renewal for policies that terminate between September 13, 2018, and March 13, 2019.